Business briefs from across the nation and around the world

May 7, 2013 12:01 AM

May 7, 2013 12:01 AM

Calif. court: Governments can ban storefront pot shops

SAN FRANCISCO -- Local governments in California have legal authority to ban storefront pot shops within their borders, California's highest court ruled on Monday in an opinion likely to further diminish the state's once-robust medical marijuana industry.

Nearly 17 years after voters in the state legalized medical marijuana, the court ruled unanimously in a legal challenge to a ban the city of Riverside enacted in 2010.

The advocacy group Americans for Safe Access estimates that another 200 jurisdictions statewide have similar prohibitions on retail pot sales.

Bank of America, MBIA settle securities dispute

NEW YORK -- Bank of America and MBIA, a mortgage insurer, have reached a deal to settle a dispute over faulty mortgage securities issued during the U.S. housing boom, according to the Wall Street Journal.

As part of the settlement, Bank of America will pay MBIA $1.6 billion in cash, along with other compensation, provide MBIA with a credit line of $500 million and take a stake of about 5 percent in MBIA's holding company, the Journal said.

FAA safety oversight of aircraft repairs faulted

WASHINGTON -- A government watchdog says the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of hundreds of domestic and overseas repair stations that service U.S. airliners is ineffective and doesn't target stations mostly likely to present safety risks.

The Department of Transportation's inspector general said in a report released Monday that a supposedly risk-based safety inspection system adopted by the FAA "falls short of being truly risk-based." The report said this is especially true for foreign repair stations.

To save money, U.S. airlines have increasingly outsourced their aircraft repair and maintenance to repair stations in countries where labor rates are cheaper.

EU: Motorola may have violated antitrust rules

BRUSSELS -- The European Commission said Monday that Motorola Mobility may have abused its dominant market position by denying Apple the right to use technology essential for mobile phones.

It is a violation of European Union antitrust rules for a patent holder to deny use to technologically essential patents to companies willing to pay a fair and reasonable price for their use. Motorola Mobility, which Google bought in August 2011, obtained a court injunction preventing Apple from using certain patented technologies considered "standard-essential" for the industry.

Hong Kong dockworkers end 40-day strike

The workers settled their dispute late Monday by agreeing to the pay offer from four middleman contractors that provide staff to a container terminal controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing.

About 450 workers went on strike March 28. They originally demanded a raise of up to 23 percent. They later said they would settle for a double-digit percentage increase.

Adidas: Asia laborers can file complaints by SMS

BERLIN -- German sports gear maker Adidas says it is encouraging workers in factories of its Asian suppliers to anonymously share possible grievances directly with the company via text message.

Adidas AG, which also owns the Reebok brand, said Monday the SMS hotline will help bridge the communication gap between management and workers, enabling employees to "simply send an SMS when they feel their rights are breached."

It says the initiative was successfully tested at an Indonesian supplier's factory and will now be rolled out to four other plants in the country and one in Vietnam.

ECB, Germany at odds over banking union setup

BERLIN -- The European Central Bank and Germany, the bloc's biggest economy, are at odds over how to set up the banking union that is meant to stabilize the 17-nation eurozone's financial system.

ECB executive board member Yves Mersch said Monday in Luxembourg that in addition to establishing the agreed joint banking supervisor, the project also requires a centralized authority to unwind failing banks. He insists "one cannot live without the other."

But German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told French newspaper Les Echos that the establishment of such an authority to unwind banks isn't possible without changing the European Union's treaties, which is a complicated and lengthy process.